


All Blue

by TeyrianTimelord



Category: Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: F/M, New Raptors, barry actually gets some dialogue this time, blue is the real hero, claire and owen are a thing, not really romance, owen and oc are bros, raptor mauling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-24
Updated: 2015-06-24
Packaged: 2018-04-05 21:44:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4195986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeyrianTimelord/pseuds/TeyrianTimelord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The new additions to the pack are not as accustomed to following directions under pressure as their predecessors had been.</p><p>An interaction between the trainers and the raptors goes horribly wrong during a tropical storm, and when Owen's efforts aren't enough Blue has to step in to save the day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Owen, Barry, Claire, Blue, Recker, and the new raptors are back by popular demand! 
> 
> This can either stand alone, or act as a companion piece for "Only If For The Night," which you can read here (http://archiveofourown.org/works/4160361) if you want a little more background on Steph Recker, the OC made shamelessly for no other purpose than to have a female raptor trainer on the squad. But hey, who doesn't want to see Owen get slapped around by a little Jewish woman?
> 
> Anyhow, this was demanded by you the people, so I wrote it for you the people! Please leave feedback if you feel even the slightest bit inclined; your words are the fuel to my creative fire. Enjoy!

Storms never sat well with Owen. There was nothing comfortable about being at the mercy of the whole sky releasing all its fury onto the earth below. They were his first fear as a child, leaving him with memories many dark nights hiding under mountains of blankets and clinging to stuffed animals for dear life with every rolling crash of thunder. His parents told him he would outgrow it, but he never did, not really. He got better at hiding it, sure, but not a single storm had gone by in his life that all the hairs on the back of his neck hadn’t stood on end. He thought maybe it would get better once he joined the Navy, but oh no, it got even worse; especially after the airstrikes. The lightning became indiscernible from missiles, the thunder just a cover for crashing jets overhead. For a good four years, it was impossible for him to make it through a storm without fighting down an anxiety attack with anything from nearly waking with neighbors with loud music trying to drown out the thunder to whole bottles of straight Jack Daniels, and even then nothing was guaranteed. At least he no longer had to go to such extremes, but storm nights still meant sleepless nights. Thank God for Barry, Steph, Netflix, and beer when the tropical skies above Isla Nublar decided to let all hell break loose.

It was six o’clock, not even natural sunset yet, when the storm clouds came rolling in and completely obscured the sun. By six fifteen the trees around the velociraptor paddock were thrashing like inflatable air dancers under the force of the winds while dust and dirt and leaves flew vertically from every which way. The thunder was echoing from miles off in the distance, but Owen knew it wouldn’t take long for the full force of the storm to move in. He could feel the very beginning of small raindrops start to fall on his forehead every few seconds. The faster they could secure the paddock and get back to Barry’s trailer for Pulp Fiction and Corona, the better.

The raptors, however, did not feel the same way. Though Blue was cooperative enough to at least entertain the thought of going into the roofed enclosure specifically designed for nasty storms, the baby girls were having none of it. India, Juliett, and Kilo were resisting any and all attempts to lure them into the enclosure. They ignored Barry’s bribes of frozen rabbits, Owen’s clicker was useless, and though Steph’s laser pointer nearly tricked Juliett into the den, Kilo, being the little shit that she is, smacked her sister with her tail at the last moment as if to remind her of their group resolve. Unlike Blue, they still were not so keen on following Alpha orders under pressure, and the Beta was not feeling generous enough enforce his will. She seemed utterly content to just stand out in the open paddock and feel the wind on her face, though the younger ones just wanted more time to play.

“Well what the fuck do we do now?” Steph called over the roar of the wind, clinging to the catwalk handrail as if she was worried a strong gust might knock her into the enclosure. “Can we use catch poles or something?”

“Only if you feel like dealing with four royally pissed off velociraptors,” Owen shouted back from his place on the ground against the bars.

“I’d rather have pissed off raptors than electrocuted raptors,” Barry added, wiping a few raindrops from his forehead. “Claire just radioed that there are huge bolts of lightning coming in from the west.”

Owen ran a hand through his hair. _Shit, shit, shit!_ he thought in frustration. _Charlie, Delta, and Echo didn’t give me this crap on their first big storm._ He regretted the notion as soon as it passed through his brain. No, it wasn’t fair to bring them into this; not to them and not to himself. It wasn’t the new girls’ fault that he didn’t have the chance to raise them from birth. They had no say in the fact that the first two years of their lives were lived in a lab and research facility rather than in a simulated natural habitat with daily training. It was that kind of life that made Indominus the monster she grew to be; he should be thanking God that Claire jumped on the chance to bring them to Jurassic World as soon as she could (at least someone learned from that disaster). Still, the girls were quickly burning through options that didn’t involve some kind of force, and Barry was right. It was better to make them angry then risk letting them die.

“Alright,” he finally ceded. “Steph, call some security agents for backup so we can at least have five sets of hands. Barry, grab the catch poles and some more rats. Hopefully some treats along the way will keep their tempers down.”

His colleagues both nodded and quickly scrambled to carry out their orders. The rain was drizzling at a steady pace now, stinging slightly in the heavy winds. Even though it was nearly as black as night, Owen regretted not having his sunglasses to keep the flying dust out of his eyes. He could hear Claire’s voice in the back of his head scolding him for trying to herd four of history’s deadliest predators while he could barely keep his eyes open more than a squint, but he had to brush it off. Steph soon appeared near the gate with two members of the security, swiftly followed by Barry and the steel safety snares.

“Here’s the plan: Steph, I want you to be in charge of the rats. We’ll cover you and catch each girl one at a time as they go for the ones you toss. Make sure they are continually snacking once they’re caught; I want them focused on that, not us. Barry, you get India. You two, Kilo and Juliett. I’ll take care of Blue,” Owen explained. “We only have one shot at this. If anyone screws up it puts the rest of us in dangers, so don’t fuck around.”

The team all murmured in affirmation and Owen took a deep breath. Tightening his one hand around the catch pole, he pushed the buttons needed to secure the outer gate, and then slowly opened the door into the enclosure. The familiar noise raised the attention of all four raptors, who perked up their heads and turned their eyes to the oncoming group of humans. India and Kilo growled deeply in the back of their throats while Blue hissed loudly and Juliett tucked her arms to her body defensively. Steph took a few cautious steps in front of the group, holding one hand out and one hand on the bag of dead rats hanging from her belt. Owen swallowed nervously. She had been in the paddock with the raptors individually to do one-on-one training, but the police dog trainer had never been in the enclosure with all four of them loose before. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t worried about a 5’1” woman being stared down by four anxious velociraptors with the munchies. Still, she looked at levelheaded and authoritarian as ever.

“Eyes on me!” she ordered, lifting up one of the frozen rats. “India, heel!”

India blinked her orange lids suspiciously, long tail swaying thoughtfully from side to side, but she eventually broke and dove forward for the white rodent. Steph tossed it toward Barry, and sure enough India swung her head right into the loop. At first she let out a shriek of terror and betrayal, but another rat from Steph quickly quieted her fussing. Juliett, in her typical ditzy fashion, was so much more concerned with getting her favorite treat that she practically pranced into the catch by her own free will just to get a second helping. Owen couldn’t help but be proud when Blue followed her orders with all the maturity that he could have hoped for. Though she hissed at Steph a few times, the promise of a reward and a quick whistle from her alpha was all it took for her _allow_ Owen to gently slip the wire loop around her neck. She still bristled indignantly, but he relaxed a bit that she was being a good sport. Kilo, however, was having none of it.

No matter how many times Steph barked commands or tried to lure her to the security guard with the promise of rats, the largest of the sisters was refusing to submit. With every move they made, she countered with eardrum-piercing shrieks or throaty warning growls. When the man tried to inch the pole closer to her, she snapped at it with a vicious bite that promised not to miss a second time. The more she resisted, the more restless the others grew, and Steph was quickly running out of rats to appease them.

“We can’t keep this up,” Barry called to Owen while Juliett clawed anxiously at the ground, whining for Steph to give her another tidbit. “They won’t tolerate it once the food runs out and we can’t hold them one-on-one.”

“I know, I know,” he replied, Barry’s words being marked by Blue giving the catch a tug that nearly pulled Owen off his feet. “You, security, do not take your eyes off Kilo! Steph, toss the bag into the enclosure. When the others run, she’ll want to follow; we can catch her then.”

Steph nodded, but the second she untied the bag from her belt, all hell broke loose. A wall of rain seemed to pour of out the sky like a massive dam behind the clouds had been broken. Suddenly doused, Owen watched in horror as Kilo and the others let out furious hisses at the increase of cold water. The combined sound from all around her was just enough distraction for Steph to glance once over her shoulder. Once was enough for Kilo to recognize her chance and seize it. Before Owen or Barry even had time to shout _look out!_ Kilo had launched herself at the third raptor trainer, snatching the bag of rats out of her hand and plowing one clawed foot into Steph’s chest, pinning her to the ground. He could see her arms fly to cover her head, but not before Kilo swatted downward, raking two claws against the left side of Steph’s face and forearm.

Owen had known Steph since basic training. Over the years, he had seen her hike three miles out of the woods on a broken ankle, take a left hook straight to the nose during a bar fight, pull a fishing hook the size of car key out of her arm, and stitch up a dog bite to own leg with a sewing needle. Sure, she had choked back tears a couple of times, but not once during their time in the Navy had he ever seen her sob or heard her scream. Every hair on his body stood on end when he realized the high pitched shrieking noise coming from the other side of the clearing was not Kilo, but Steph, clutching her hand to her eye while desperately kicking her feet in an attempt to get out from under the raptor’s toes. The security guard was trying to loop the catchpole noose around Kilo’s neck, but between the wind and rain and mud every effort was met with a hiss and swiping claws, all the while her toes continuing to dig into Steph’s chest. More screaming.

Without thinking, Owen immediately dropped the catchpole on Blue’s neck and sprinted through the mud, shoving the security guard out of the way and sliding right into Kilo’s line of vision. She paused, the empty cloth of the rat sack still hanging in her teeth.

“Stand down!” he ordered, noticing Barry hurrying Juliett and India into the storm den despite their protests. “Kilo, don’t give me this shit, stand down!”

She only dropped into an offensive position, baring her teeth and growling. Owen tried to drown out the unending cries from Steph and concentrate. He didn’t want to shoot Kilo, God knows another one of his girls dead on his watch was the last thing his PTSD needed, but he wasn’t about to let Steph bleed out only to become raptor food. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Barry coming back into the paddock with a rifle over his shoulder, waiting on Owen’s command. He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. He wasn’t ready to lose another friend. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand for Barry to toss him the rifle, but it never came. Instead a streak of blue flashed before his eyes.

Blue suddenly leapt between Owen and Kilo and let out a massive roar that made everyone in the paddock jump, including the standoffish younger pack member. At first she tried to his back, but Blue was swift to show that she was beta, and Kilo would do as she was told. The older raptor snapped her teeth viciously at Kilo’s face, all the while continuing to bellow furiously. When she still refused to back off, Blue struck out, catching Kilo across the nose. Finally, after several more dodged swipes, she relented and bolted toward her sisters howling at her from the covered shelter, with Blue on her tail to make sure she stayed on track.

_That’s my girl._

The moment Blue succeeded in chasing Kilo off, Owen dove to Steph’s side. She was a fairly petite woman to begin with, but she looked like a child, curled into a crouching ball almost swallowed whole by mud. Thankfully she had stopped screaming, but the shallow sobs and agonized gasps were almost as terrifying. The real terror, though, came when Owen gently rolled her over just enough to see the side of her face she had buried into the ground, and he had to suppress the vomit threatening to rise from his stomach. A crimson gash ran diagonally from the middle of her forehead down to the edge of her ear, oozing darkened blood thickened by mud. Right in the center of the laceration, the socket where her left eye had been was nothing but a gaping hole dripping that dyed every raindrop that touched it red, barely covered by the tattered remains of her eyelid.

“Call in a medivac now!” he yelled to Barry, who was already radioing the control tower for help, before turning his attention back to Steph. “Can you hear me? I need you to stay with me, girly; focus on my voice.”

“Everything… everything hurts, Owen,” she whimpered. “Everything hurts…”

“I know, darlin’, but help is coming, okay? Just hold on for a few more minutes,” he reassured, putting pressure on the cuts on her chest and doing his best to use his body as a shield from the pounding rain. “Just stay with me, Steph.”

While everyone else was scrambling this way and that to prep for the helicopter landing, Blue was standing twenty feet away in the middle of the paddock, expression unreadable. She made no noise, but rather just rested on her feet, eyes trained on Owen and Steph as if she was simply passively waiting to see how the rest of the evening’s events would play out, not caring the least about the weather that had her sisters fussing from the roofed enclosure. It took a few moments for it to truly sink in that she had just saved a human life, and that of his best friend, no less.

_Thank you, Blue. You really are my girl._

He stayed kneeling in the mud, watching Blue and compressing Steph’s wounds until the helicopter arrived. When it finally landed and the EMTs carried Steph away, he followed them to the door of the paddock, but stayed leaning against the gate, cursing the storm, but not daring to move, only taking solace in knowing that his beta was watching him from the other side of the fence. He stayed there until Barry eventually called Claire to come get him.

***

“The doctor says Steph’s finally out of surgery,” Claire reported, coming in to meet Owen in the waiting room. “She’s got a fractured sternum, four broken ribs, a broken clavicle, dislocated shoulder, fractured ulna, punctured lung, severe internal bleeding, and they couldn’t save the eye, but she’ll pull through just fine. After a few months she should be able to function as usual.”

Owen let out the deepest sigh of his life. Nine hours he had been sitting in that damned white room, pacing a ditch in the floor waiting for news on Steph. He would have gone insane is Claire had not been there to bring him coffee and be the voice of reason when his head was going a million miles a minute. No matter what he did, her bloodcurdling scream echoing in his ears, and the image of her bloody empty socket was seared into his vision. How the hell did they walk away from the Persian Gulf unscathed only to end up here?

“Can I see her?” he asked anxiously.

Claire nodded. He planted a quick but honest kiss on his fiancée’s cheek before practically jogging down the hall to the ICU recovery wing to Steph’s room. He peered in carefully, making sure that she was awake first.

“About damn time you got here,” Steph groaned after a few moments when she noticed him standing in the doorway.

“About damn time you woke up,” he teased back, taking the chair next to her bed.

Despite her tone being livelier than he expected, she still seemed to be in pretty sorry shape. Her hair had been braided out of the way so that a large bandage could be wrapped around her head to cover her eye and the freshly stitched up gash. A heavy cast supported her injured arm while almost her entire abdomen was wrapped up like a mummy. Steph caught him staring at the bandages and sighed.

“The ophthalmologist said I can get a prosthetic eye to fill the socket, but that scar isn’t going anywhere any time soon,” she said with a touch of melancholy.

Owen offered what he hoped was a comforting smile.

“You’ll just look like even more of a badass.”

She chuckled, but then let out a moan at the aggravation of her broken ribs and quickly sobered up.

“What happened back in the paddock? I can’t remember anything after Kilo jumped me.”

Owen ran both hands over his face and through his hair. He might as well get to practicing now because this was a story that he was going to be telling for decades to come. The story of the night Blue saved another life, the night Blue proved everyone wrong again, the night Blue showed that raptors were so much more than just the monsters or attractions people wanted them to be.

“Well, it was really all Blue…”

**Author's Note:**

> If you are interested in reading the final companion piece to this little series, it is now finally up! Read "Need a Breather" here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/4275735


End file.
